Former UGA football player indicted on federal murder and other charges in slaying of Oconee clerk
A federal grand jury in Macon on Tuesday returned a murder indictment against the suspect in the 2021 slaying of an Oconee County RaceTrac station clerk.
Ahkil Nasir Crumpton, 24, of Philadelphia, Pa., was indicted on charges of murder, attempted robbery, use of a firearm during a crime and making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm.
Crumpton, a former University of Georgia football player, is charged with the March 19, 2021, slaying of Elijah Wood, who was killed while working alone on the nightshift at the store on U.S. Highway 441 just outside Watkinsville.
Oconee sheriff: Ex-UGA player never a suspect in clerk's slaying until ballistics match
Previously reported: Former Georgia football player named as suspect, arrested in Oconee RaceTrac shooting death
The federal indictment also revealed that James Armstrong, 34, of Commerce is charged with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
“Armstrong bought the gun and sold it to Crumpton,” Oconee County Sheriff James Hale said Wednesday.
Investigators said a 9mm pistol that Armstrong purchased at Franklin Gun Shop in Athens was used to kill 23-year-old Wood.
Crumpton faces life in prison if convicted of the federal murder charge, while a conviction against Armstrong could result in a 10-year prison term.
Hale said he knew a federal indictment was imminent.
"The federal case has been running the same time as the state case," he said. "It's been part of the game plan to do a federal prosecution also."
Crumpton was indicted in March by a grand jury in Oconee County on state charges of murder, aggravated assault, attempt to commit a felony and possession of a firearm during a felony.
Crumpton, originally from Philadelphia, was arrested there in March after federal authorities reported that ballistic testing on a weapon and ammunition from a gun seized there in a homicide investigation matched a shell casing found at the crime scene.
The suspect remains in a Philadelphia jail.
“We’re still trying to get him here. It looks like the feds will get him here before our extradition will,” Hale said about the process under way between the Western Circuit District Attorney’s Office and Philadelphia authorities.
“It’s taking way longer than anyone ever expected to get him here on the state extradition,” the sheriff said.
Crumpton was a UGA player during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He was enrolled at UGA during the spring 2021 session when Wood was slain, but university officials said he has not graduated from UGA.
Before playing football at UGA, Crumpton played for Los Angeles Valley Community College, where he garnered attention as a wide receiver and punt-return specialist.
The case was investigated not only by Oconee investigators, but federal and state investigators with assistance from Athens-Clarke police and the Philadelphia Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Morrison has been assigned to prosecute the case in federal court.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee RaceTrac killing suspect facing federal murder charge
